Stella’s warning: Williams could crash the top four party

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella noted Williams’ standout performance in pre-season testing in Bahrain, and specifically the impressive single-lap pace of their FW47 car.

The F1 paddock in Sakhir was buzzing with speculation this week as lap times and sector times were dissected, analyzed and extrapolated by engineers, strategists and pundits alike.

While the usual suspects – Mclaren, Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes – commanded their fair share of attention, a quiet undercurrent of intrigue swirled around the performances of the midfield teams.

A Champion's Watchful Eye

The convergence of performance, a consequence of maturing regulations and relentless development, has become increasingly evident.

The gaps, once yawning chasms, are shrinking, creating a sense of anticipation, a feeling that 2025 could witness a seismic shift in the competitive landscape.

“We see there are definitely several cars that are in condition to put together very competitive lap times, which I think are competitive in absolute terms,” Stella told the media, quoted by Motorsport Week.

The data didn’t lie: Williams, powered by new signing Carlos Sainz, had topped the timesheets on day two with a blistering single-lap pace that turned heads across the paddock.

For Stella, it was a sign that 2025 might rewrite the pecking order.

“So if anything my take so far is that I was thinking before coming here that in the past we used to talk about the top three,” he said.

“Then thankfully McLaren has kind of added and now we have the top four. But perhaps this year we might have to adapt our language again, which will be great for Formula 1 and then maybe the top five or the top six.

“So we will see. Certainly there seem to be a few quick cars out there.”

Williams Steals the Spotlight

Asked who among the chasing pack stood out, Stella pointed straight at Williams.

“I’ve seen that in terms of one-lap pace in addition to the top four that seem to be certainly Williams, very competitive,” he said.

“I’m really stating the obvious because I’m sure everyone will have seen the data. They are the same data that I look at.”

The FW47’s performance wasn’t just a fluke – it was a statement, etched in the telemetry and GPS overlays that Stella pored over with a tactician’s eye.

What impressed him most was Williams’ strength in Bahrain’s tricky second sector.

“It’s interesting that, for instance, Williams was very strong in the second sector which is not only a sector of braking acceleration,” he noted.

“It’s also a sector with a couple of medium-speed corners. I think this should say that Williams might have improved in that area.”

For a team once mired in the midfield, this hinted at a broader leap forward – a car that could dance through corners as deftly as it powered down straights.

“And over the two days, I’ve seen, like I said, at times some other teams in condition to put together quick lap times,” Stella added.

“In reality, you should look at the GPS overlays. It’s not only the sector times or the lap times. You should go through a thorough analysis.”

His words carried the weight of a man who knew the devil lay in the details, and Williams’ numbers were speaking loud and clear.

A Grid Closing Ranks

The tightening field wasn’t news to Stella, given what he had witnessed in the closing stages of last year’s campaign.

“The early indication is that already last year, going through qualifying sessions, it was quite tight,” he continued.

“The Q1 session, it wasn’t any more towards the end of the season those sessions in which you enter and you think, ‘we’re going to go through with one set of tyres, just the first run will be enough’.

“Often we needed to go out again and it was still quite close from a lap time point of view,” he recalled. Bahrain’s test only sharpened that reality.

“What I’ve taken from these two days is that, if anything, it’s going to be even more of this as we start this 2025 season.”

For McLaren, the reigning world champions, the message is clear: no one – not even the top four –is safe from the chasing pack.

• Testing Truths: Our Bahrain 2025 pre-season team ranking

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